As Luke dismounted from the carriage, an elf proactively stepped forward to take care of his horse and carriage.
After thanking him, he walked over and greeted Gandalf with a smile.
"Gandalf."
"It's good to see you well, Luke," Gandalf said happily.
"It seems you've already met Lord Elrond, so I don't need to introduce you."
Elrond nodded in praise, "Wizard Luke's magic attainments are extraordinary. While we were hunting Orc, he had already eliminated hundreds of Orc and Wargs. I think it won't be long before the title 'Foe of Orc' spreads throughout the Eriador wilderness."
"Lord Elrond, you flatter me!" Luke quickly declined. There were many people who had killed more Orc than him, for instance, the countless Orc souls under this elven lord's command. He dared not claim the title 'Foe of Orc'.
After exchanging pleasantries with Gandalf and Luke, Elrond looked at Thorin and spoke politely and courteously.
"Welcome, Thorin, son of Thráin."
"I don't think we've met," Thorin questioned.
"Your every move has the demeanor of your grandfather," Elrond explained amiably, "I knew Thrór when he was King Under the Mountain."
"Really? He never mentioned you once," Thorin's attitude was not friendly, his tone mocking.
Gandalf rolled his eyes.
Luke was also speechless for a moment; it was indeed something Thorin would say, offending people as always.
Elrond, with his good upbringing, did not mind Thorin's attitude and turned to instruct in Elvish, "Light the fires, prepare the wine, for we must entertain our honored guests."
"What is he saying? Is he speaking ill of us?" The dwarf Gloin angrily tried to rush forward, and the other Dwarves also looked ready to fight.
"No, Master Gloin, he's inviting you to a feast!" Gandalf explained, feeling weary.
The Dwarves were half-believing, gathering together and whispering, discussing whether this was a trap.
After their discussion, Gloin said with a matter-of-fact expression,
"In that case, lead the way."
At the banquet,
Elrond, Gandalf, Luke, and Thorin sat at one table, while the other Dwarves and Bilbo sat at another.
Luke looked at the table full of green food, without a hint of meat, and then at the group of Dwarves opposite him who had no idea where to start eating, and he felt a wave of helplessness.
It seemed the elves were not without their temper.
Wasn't this a small, immediate retaliation?
It just so happened that he was implicated as well.
At Luke's table, apart from Thorin not speaking, the overall atmosphere was quite good.
However, at Bilbo's table, it was a different scene altogether.
Among them, Kili, the youngest dwarf, stared intently at the elf playing the harp, even winking at him.
It turned out the elf was male, which directly caused his companions to burst into laughter.
The noise even drew the attention of Elrond and others at the head table.
Halfway through the banquet, Gandalf told Elrond about his and Luke's pursuit of the Trolls and handed him his sword, asking about its origin.
Elrond recognized it at a glance.
"This is Glamdring (foe-biter), the Sword of the Foe-Hammer, the sword of King Turgon of Gondolin, forged in the First Age for the war against the Orc."
"I didn't expect you to find it. It seems your luck is good."
"This isn't my luck," Gandalf shook his head, explaining with a bright smile, "This is a gift; Luke Yier found it and gave it to me."
Elrond looked at Luke in surprise upon hearing this, his gaze becoming even more benevolent, and he nodded, "This is a precious friendship."
Luke felt a little embarrassed by what the two said and could only turn his gaze elsewhere.
Subsequently, Elrond also identified Thorin's glamdring (foe-biter) and wished the sword well for his use.
Bilbo, below, saw this scene and hesitantly picked up his own short sword.
The dwarf Balin next to him, seeing this, immediately scoffed, "Don't even think about it. Swords only get names if they have great battle achievements. If you ask me, yours probably isn't even a sword, at most, it's a letter opener."
Hearing this, Bilbo put away his short sword with some disappointment.
However, Luke happened to see this scene and immediately said, "Bilbo, bring your elven sword over. Lord Elrond might know its origin."
"This... that's not necessary, is it?" Bilbo hesitated; he also had no confidence in this short sword in his heart.
After all, compared to the elaborately forged and gem-incrusted Foe-Hammer and glamdring (foe-biter), the short sword seemed very inconspicuous and lacked any decoration.
However, at this moment, Elrond was also attracted by Luke's words and looked at Bilbo.
"Since there is another elven sword, may I see it?"
Watched by everyone, Bilbo felt a little constrained. He stood up and placed his short sword in front of Elrond.
Elrond saw it was a short sword and, with some curiosity, drew the blade from its leather sheath, examined it carefully, and then showed a look of surprise.
Everyone saw this scene and became curious. Could this short sword really have some special origin?
"Lord Elrond, do you know the origin of this sword?" Gandalf asked.
Elrond's gaze was complex, and he nodded.
"This sword, or rather this dagger, indeed has an extraordinary origin, because it once belonged to Glorfindel, the Lord of the Golden Flower of Gondolin."
"Are you saying this dagger is the one that killed the Balrog?" Gandalf was also very surprised to hear this.
Elrond nodded, and then told everyone the origin of the dagger.
Glorfindel was a Noldor elven noble, Lord of the Golden Flower family, one of the twelve houses of Gondolin. In the First Age, in the year 510, Gondolin was attacked by Morgoth. The enemy laid a net, sending a vast army including many Dragons, Balrogs, wolves, and Orc.
Gondolin fell, with only a very small number of residents escaping. Passing through a place called the Crissaegrim, they encountered an ambush of Orc and a Balrog.
Glorfindel fought the Balrog alone, allowing the others to escape. He struggled with the Balrog, was pulled down a cliff by its fiery whip, and during the fall, he plunged his dagger into the Balrog's abdomen, killing it, and then perished on the cliff.
And Bilbo's short sword was Glorfindel's dagger, which had once slain the Balrog.
Everyone who received this news was very surprised, and the way they looked at the short sword in Bilbo's hand also changed.
Luke was also very surprised at this moment. He didn't expect Bilbo's Sting to have such an extraordinary origin.
And what was even more interesting was that Glorfindel, the former owner of this dagger, was currently living in Rivendell, and was one of the few most powerful elves in Rivendell.
That's right, Glorfindel didn't die.
Or rather, he was reborn.
Glorfindel had perished after killing the Balrog, but he received divine grace and was reborn shortly after, and like the five Wizards, he was sent to Middle-earth to assist Noldor High King Gil-galad and Elrond against Sauron's growing power.
So now an interesting situation had arisen.
Both the former and current owners of this dagger were in Rivendell. Should it be returned to its original owner, Glorfindel, or continue to belong to its current owner, Bilbo?
Regarding this, even Elrond had a headache, and ultimately decided to seek Glorfindel's opinion.